tolasfandomcom-20200213-history
Common Calendar
The Common Calendar, or the Twelve Rotations of the Gods is used throughout the world by the shorter lived races. Its usage has become the preferred method for the human empires of Etan and has become the standard for various religious groups across the world, with even those that would not use it regularly being aware of it. It has replaced the Draconic Calendar and the Astral Calendar as the most widely used in the world. It is depicted as a large wheel segmented into twelve, often ten smaller wheels will be added, one in each of the segments. Time in Tolas A year in Tolas has 365 days. In the Common Calendar, the year is divided into twelve months of thirty days, each named for a different god whose planes surround Tolas. A month is made up of three tendays. There are five additional holidays, four of which are the solstices and equinoxes of the four respective seasons which fall in the middle of a month, which the calendar effectively skipping over a day. The calendar year begins on the first day of Bahamut, which is an additional day known as Year's Start that is celebrated every year, with a similar day appearing as the last day of Tiamat every four years known as Year's Leap. ''These additional days are stand alone and are not named for any of the gods. Individual days of a tenday are named after ten of of the gods, a carry over from the previous pantheon before the arrival of Elendei and Umbarnir. They are referred to as being the first, second or third of that day, so example full date would be; ''"it is the second Aursday of Bahamut", ''which roughly amounts to; it is the 12th day of the first month of the year. *Pelor's day or '''Pelsday'. *Aureon's Day or Aursday. *Sune's Day or Sunsday. *Solonar's Day or Solsday. *Tiamat's Day or Tiasday. *The Raven Queen's Day or Queensday. *The Mockery's Day or Mocksday. *Tempus' Day or Tempsday. *Moradin's Day or Morsday. *Bahamut's Day or Bahsday. The tenday begins with Pelor's Day and essentially ends when it arrives again. Seasons and Months There are four seasons in the year; High, Fall, Low and Rise. The High and Low are the warmest and coldest seasons respectfully, with both having a solstice when Highvale, reach it's highest point in the sky. The Fall and Rise are when the days grow shorter and longer respectfully, with both having a equinox when Highvale aligns with the world's equator. These are then further broken down into twelve months, each named after a god; # Pelor # Aureon # Sune # Umbarnir # Solonar # Tiamat # Raven Queen # Mockery # Tempus # Elendei # Moradin # Bahamut Epochs The Common Calendar is measured in the movements of Tolas around the planes of the gods, which correspond counting forward from a widely known or significant event. The current epoch event used by the calendar is the arrival of the first exarch which begins the Divine Era, marked as DE, which has only just begun. Previous events include Shardfall, Pelor's Glory, and the Long Night, with each year counting forward from these various events. The four most recent epoch events are; *Shardfall, lasting 527 years. It is marked by the letters SF. *Pelor's Glory, lasting 219 years. It is marked by the letters PG. *The Long Night, lasting 721 years. It is marked by the letters LN. * The Divine Era, the current calendar which has only recently begun. It is marked by the letters DE. Holidays and Restday Special Calendar Days Every nation, faith, and culture across Tolas has its own special festivals and holidays, the observances of which are usually aligned to either the gods or the the cycles of the stars or the Silver Veil. In addition, the Common Calendar specifies five annual festivals keyed to the changing seasons and one quadrennial festival that are observed in almost every land with particular celebrations varying based on local traditions and popular faiths. High Solstice The midpoint of the High is a day of feasting, carousing, betrothals, and basking in the pleasant weather. The god Pelor is often associated with this time, as it is in their month that it falls, with omens and portents playing a large part in how people believe the year will go. Fall Equinox A day of feasting and thanks, the equinox often marks the end of the harvest and the last chance for travelers to depart before roads become impassible. Falling in the middle of the month of Umbarnir, it is often a time of reflection and preparation for the coming winter. Low Solstice As the nights lengthen and the Low reaches its zenith in the month of the Raven Queen, people give thanks to their ancestors and share stories of legends and fallen heroes, with prayers offered to the dead in remembrance. Rise Equinox The Rise is associated with rebirth and at its height the month falls in line with the god Elendei who exemplifies this aspect. It is celebrated with freshly cut flowers and giving small gifts, both to one another and to the gods, hoping for a good growing season. Year's Start The first day of the year, celebrating the end of the year and the coming of a new one, this is often a day of celebration marked by the setting of the sun, with people often preparing to countdown the final moments of the last day of the year. Year's Leap Only occurring once per four years, Year's Leap is a day for plain speaking and open council between rulers and their subjects, for the renewal of pacts and contracts and for treaty making between peoples. Many tournaments and contests of skill are held on this day, with many faiths mark the holiday by emphasising one of their key tenets. Restday Each tenday has two days when many of the common folk do not have to work and instead must either observe a religious rite on a restday. Depending on which god is patronising the month, the restdays will vary from month to month. Essentially when the month and the day align (i.e. it is a Pelor's Day in the month of Pelor) then it is the restday for that tenday, meaning the day is intended for worship to whatever god that the month and day are. The belief being that this is when the god's plane is closest to Tolas and that god's power is at a period of strength. Additionally, another restday occurs when the opposing god's day appears in its rival's month.'' The belief being that the enemy god of the god of the current month prevents their full power from reaching Tolas (''i.e. in the month of Pelor, The Raven Queen's Day is the restday, as she is his opposite in the calendar).Category:In-World Concepts